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Anthrax's Anthems EP featuring a cover of Rush's Anthem released today

Tue, Mar 19, 2013@9:37AM | comments removed/disabled

UPDATE - 3/21@2:55PM: Here's a recent interview with Anthrax's Scott Ian where he talks about Rush and the Anthem cover:

... the EP was named after [Rush's], "Anthem." Rush's version, which opens their second album (1975's Fly By Night) is not one of their big radio hits, but Ian says that his bandmates are Rush fanatics and wanted to go for a deep cut: "I'm certainly a Rush fan but [Drummer] Charlie [Benante] and [bassist] Frankie [Bello] and Joey are like, Rush nerds. They know every single thing about Rush." ... Ian says he's not surprised that they are finally [being inducted in the Rock Hall]. "People take Rush seriously, they're not everyone's cup of tea, but everyone has a respect for that band whether you like them or not." ...

----- snip -----

UPDATE - 3/21@2:55PM: Here's a recent interview with Anthrax's Scott Ian where he talks about Rush and the Anthem cover:

... the EP was named after [Rush's], "Anthem." Rush's version, which opens their second album (1975's Fly By Night) is not one of their big radio hits, but Ian says that his bandmates are Rush fanatics and wanted to go for a deep cut: "I'm certainly a Rush fan but [Drummer] Charlie [Benante] and [bassist] Frankie [Bello] and Joey are like, Rush nerds. They know every single thing about Rush." ... Ian says he's not surprised that they are finally [being inducted in the Rock Hall]. "People take Rush seriously, they're not everyone's cup of tea, but everyone has a respect for that band whether you like them or not." ...

----- snip -----

UPDATE - 3/19@11:17AM: Here's a review from Examiner.com:

... The EP opens strong with Rush's "Anthem." Joey sounds exactly like a young Geddy Lee. It's remarkable. One would've thought Geddy was singing on the record. ....

----- snip -----

Thrash metal pioneers Anthrax have included a cover of Rush's Anthem on their tribute EP Anthems which released today. You can listen to the track below or on YouTube at this location. The EP also includes covers of Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak, AC/DC's TNT, Cheap Tricks' Big Eyes, Boston's Smokin' and Journey's Keep On Runnin', along with a new Anthrax original track Crawl. Wayne Parry of the Associated Press reviewed the EP and had nothing good to say about Rush although he liked it otherwise:

There's a revelation on Anthrax's "Anthems" EP: Rush's music is annoying, no matter who plays it. ... But the rest of this all-too-short disc is like hard-rock comfort food, hewing closely to the originals, with some special Anthrax sauce on the side. ...

Alex Lifeson also heard the track and gave it his seal of approval as pointed out in this RollingStone.com article from last month:

... "A friend of ours sent [Rush guitarist] Alex Lifeson the track ["Anthem"], and he sent an email back saying he thought we did an incredible job with it and the arrangement," guitarist Scott Ian tells Rolling Stone. "And his actual quote was, 'I don't know that we could've done better; we certainly could've done worse.' We couldn't believe it. We were flipping out that Alex Lifeson even knows who our band is." ...

You can purchase Anthems through Amazon here or via iTunes at this location.

Related Posts:
[Anthrax's Anthems EP featuring a cover of Rush's Anthem now available for pre-order]
[Anthrax's cover of Rush's Anthem now available for streaming online]
[Anthrax's Anthem covers EP due out in March]
[Anthrax members discuss covering Rush's Anthem in new interview]
[Anthrax to cover Rush's Anthem for upcoming tribute album]

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